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Brantford-Brant

Port Dover pitcher in The Show

For the first time in more than a century, this area can boast a baseball player of major-league calibre.

On Sunday, Port Dover's John Axford got the call every little leaguer waits to hear when he was summoned to Milwaukee to play for the National League's Brewers.

"I definitely was a little surprised," Axford said from his hotel in Milwaukee, where the Brewers were hosting the St. Louis Cardinals in a Monday matinee.

"I had a feeling it might happen. I was supposed to go to Sweden with Team Canada for the World Cup in September, but the Brewers told me they had (changed their minds)."

Axford received news of his call-up from an unlikely source.

"It was actually the trainer who told me (Sunday) morning," said Axford of the confirmation he got from his AAA team's towel man.

"He told me to pack everything up and then said congratulations.

"I was definitely excited but it took a while for it to sink in. It didn't sink in right away.

"Then when I called my fiancée, Nicole (Burroughs), and when I heard how excited she was, it sunk in."

It didn't take quite as long for Axford's family to realize John had made it.

"There's been lots of screaming and yelling," Axford's mother, Vera, said in a voice-mail message to The Expositor while she was celebrating with other family members, including John's father, Brian.

"We've been jumping up and down. We're so excited and so proud of him. He's worked so hard."

Axford, an Assumption College graduate, looked like he was on the path to stardom while attending the University of Notre Dame on scholarship. However, the right-handed pitcher's dream of making the major leagues took a detour when he suff ered an arm injury in 2003 that resulted in Tommy John surgery.

Axford, a six-foot-five 185- pounder who was drafted and unsigned by the Seattle Mariners (seventh round, 2001) and Cincinnati Reds (42nd round, 2005), concluded his collegiate career with the Canisius College Golden Griffins after rehabbing for approximately 18 months.

In 2006, he played locally for the Intercounty Baseball League's Brantford Red Sox and, in 2007, he spent the season in the minor leagues playing in the New York Yankees farm system.

After spending the 2008 season in the minors for Milwaukee, Axford, who will marry Burroughs on Nov. 7, moved up the chain this year quite quickly.

He started off in High-A pitching for the Brevard County Manatees in the Florida State League before he was bumped to AA in Huntsville for the Southern League's Stars.

Finally, in July, he moved up to AAA, pitching for the Pacific Coast League's Nashville Sounds.

In his three minor league stops this season, Axford was 9-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 45 appearances.

The former starter turned reliever has allowed 44 hits and 38 walks in 67 1/3 innings, while striking out 89.

To make room for Axford on its 40-man roster, the Brewers released reliever Jesus Colome.

Axford did not appear in Monday's 3-0 loss to the Cardinals but he did sit in the bullpen at Miller Park, soaking up the sights and sounds.

"It was quite interesting driving up to the park, with the retractable roof," he said. "I wasn't really star struck by the players, but it's cool seeing people you've seen on TV. I didn't have any jitters."

Axford said he expects to finish the season with the Brewers. Being added to Milwaukee's 40-man roster also opens up an easier path to remain with the big club in 2010.

If he remains on the team's 40-man roster, Axford will receive an invitation to the major league camp in spring training, which has never happened in his three minor league seasons.

If Axford is dropped from the 40-man roster during the winter, he could be lost through December's Rule 5 draft

"We were pretty sure he was a 40-man roster candidate, so we figured we would take a look at him," former Toronto Blue Jays general manager and current Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash told mlb.com.

"He's struggled with command, but it's improved. We'll give him this opportunity to acclimate himself. That acclimation period for guys coming to the big leagues, it's better to get that out of the way now."

Axford was happy to have his parents, who drove from Port Dover to Milwaukee, at the game on Monday, but he also remembered many others who have helped him along the way.

"I'm just thinking of Nicole, my parents, my family, my friends," said Axford, who also mentioned that those who are no longer with him still leave an impression.

"And my grandparents, John and Marie Koopman, and Doug King (who worked with Axford as a youth), it's tough thinking of them.

"To have this finally come to fruition is tremendous. It feels really, really amazing."